All Forum Posts by: Craig Grella

If you incorporate or get an LLC, or any other business entity other than a sole propreitorship you will be required to submit a business name with that application. That requires making sure the name is not already used.

However, you do not need to start a formal business entity t reserve a trade or business name. You can start as a sole proprietorship and get a DBA (doing business as) or file a fictitious business name statement that shows you doing business under that specific name. Those forms usually run between $5 - $25 per registered name in most states.

Jason brings up a good point in his last comment as well. While the business name may be available, you also need to check general trade and copyrights. For example, you might be clear to register the company name "The Quicker Picker Upper" because that company doesn't exist in your state, but you can bet Bounty Paper towels will come after you for trademark infringement.

If you're looking for advice on starting a business check out www.thebizwizards.com.

Clifton is right, even though banks are proving quite adept at getting rid of these properties now, they should move that foreclosure date, especially with a potential buyer on the hook. It will help if you can get to mutual agreement with the seller or at least get the rest of the package in to the lender.

Even without the BPO amount your agent should be able to give you the retail value and possibly the wholesale value.

Just a few thoughts, as some other people have commented well.

I won't comment on what percentage profit you should make. You need to figure out if that number fits your plan. However, regardless of what percentage the bank says you can make it all comes down to a number they will accept or not accept. Below that number the deal doesn't work. You might try to approach it by finding out what that number is. If they're pregnant with you as the buyer you might have the ability to push it a bit and if they don't go for the lower number (more profit for you) then you can probably still raise the offer to their original counter and close the deal if it makes sense for you.

I maintain a buyers list of potential buyers in my area for residential and commercial property. If this is your first deal you may not have a host of buyers ready yet, but you should start to build that now. When you have a deal where the numbers work you can market that as soon as you have mutual agreement on a contract.

This is not something i'm running off at staples.

The book is being published by a major publisher.

Follow the instructions on the post.
Thanks.

-Craig

I'm writing a book about short sales and I'm looking for case studies from investors who have successfully negotiated 10 short sales or more. I am full up on case studies from agents, brokers, attorneys and consultants. At this point I only need actual short sale investors.

for your participation you will get your information prominently featured in the book and you will also receive a free copy of the book when it is published next year. It will appear online and in bookstores across the country.

Send me an email at [REMOVED] with your qualifications and contact information and i'll contact you to take the next step.

Thanks.

-Craig

I think the commercial real estate market is much more segmented than the residential market and has to be analyzed individually.

In general, the debt problem has made underwriting harder across the board and commercial investors who opted for arms similar to residential products will have problems refinancing in the short term which will lead to defaults in the multifamily market. Combine that with rising cap rates and vacancies and lower rent rates and there might be a problem. For cities with good fundamentals and job markets that generally bounce back quickly those numbers will turn quickly as well.

Smaller towns and more suburban areas will feel a crunch for awhile longer i believe.

Should be an interesting time for investors with cash and funds. Alot of money to be made in commercial in the next few years.

here's a link to a video of Harvey Green, CEO of Marcus and Millichap, on Squawk on the Street, regarding the possible future of commercial real estate.

Finally some decent news regarding the market and a call for a potential turnaround by middle to end of next year.

http://www.marcusmillichap.com/Video/cnbc_101309.asp

We'll see if it comes to pass.

I've always found craigslist to be pretty informative and its easy to navigate.
If nothing shows up there for your area, i'd call management companies or start knocking on doors.

John gives good advice.
When planning any building like this, check with the local planning and development commission to make sure this is doable before you spend any more time or resources on it.

Here in seattle all single family lots allows a second accessory dwelling, sometimes called a mother-in-law. They usually have rules for allowed uses though, and that may run counter to the property being used as an investment.

Information on loopnet is rarely confirmed and often mis-stated. I would not use that as a source for property comparison.
You're better off using tax records or calling local brokers and management companies for information on your local market.